The Beginning of It All
by Revolutionpunk
Summary: A short fic of the Wardog Squadron directly after their first mission which Blaze led. Minor BlazexNagase moment


**1411 Hours, Sand Island**

"Blaze, you are cleared to land,"

"Roger that," said Blaze.

The landing went by smoothly for Blaze and the rest of Wardog. However, Blaze was not comfortable with himself and felt very nauseous. The thoughts of the dead bodies and the screams in the sea still fresh in his mind. It disgusted and scared him to no end.

"Oh god…" groaned Blaze.

Blaze got out of his plane and took deep breaths to help him calm down. He managed to take two steps towards the locker room before he felt dizzy, dropped to his kness and puked on the ground.

"Blaze!"

Nagase and Chopper both ran to him to provide assistance should he need it.

"Blaze! What's wrong?" asked Nagase, concerned for her flight lead.

"Yeah Kid, you alright?" questioned Chopper, also concerned.

Blaze shook his head while taking deep breaths. He stopped puking, for now. He looked pale and was sweating.

"I'll get some water for him. Watch him, Nagase," said Chopper.

Nagase nodded and rubbed Blaze's back while he steadily eased his breathing.

Blaze groaned and mumbled something, which Nagase didn't hear clearly.

"Come again?" asked Nagase, confused.

"Bodies…" said Blaze, softly that Nagase almost couldn't hear it.

"In the sea?"

"Yeah, it still scares me a bit,"

"I understand,"

"Hey Kid!" a voice called.

Chopper came running to them with a towel and some drinks for both of them.

"Here, have some water," said Chopper, gesturing his flight lead to drink some.

Blaze nodded to both of them and drank most of it. He still felt uncomfortable but managed to get to his feet, thanks to both Chopper and Nagase.

He slowly walked back towards the debriefing room with Nagase and Chopper at his side. Both were on alert just in case he blacked out.

Blaze managed to make it and together reported their mission. However, Captain Bartlett was missing. It was suspected that he had been caught. This caused them to fear that Bartlett could either be dead or will be dead soon, given the circumstances.

All three of them walked to the crew room to find it empty. Blaze took a seat on the couch and let out a sigh while wiping his face with the towel. Nagase took a seat next to him and Chopper sat on one of the chairs nearby.

"Man, that was scary. I swear, I can't wait for this war to end. It's too much for me." Chopper said, more to himself than to the other two.

Nagase nodded while Blaze groaned and covered his face with his hands, clearly upset with their current situation.

Nagase looked worried. She felt that she caused Bartlett to go missing.

Chopper also let out a sigh. "I wonder what happened to Captain Bartlett. Do you think…"

"NO! Don't say that. Captain Bartlett is way more than capable of handling himself out there." said Blaze, stunning both of his fellow pilots.

"Yeah, I know." Chopper groaned. "It's just… I dunno…" Chopper shook his head.

He then got up and headed back towards his room, to clear his mind with his music. Blaze leaned back and looked at Nagase, who was staring off into space.

"You okay, Nagase?" asked Blaze, snapping her out of her trance.

Nagase shook her head. "I feel like this is all my fault, Captain Bartlett is missing because of my carelessness,"

Blaze kept silent. He was afraid to speak further since he was not good with words. A mistake could further bring down Nagase's morale. However, he decided to risk and try to provide some comfort for her.  
>"It's not your fault. These things happen. Besides, knowing Bartlett, he might have already escaped capture and is on his way back here,"<p>

Nagase looked at Blaze who had a smile on his face. Nagase couldn't help but smile herself.

Blaze got up and looked at the clock. "Well, I'm gonna go get myself cleaned up. I still smell like shit and it's making me feel uncomfortable." Blaze said with a slight chuckle at the last sentence.  
>"I'm going back to our room," said Nagase as she stood up.<p>

"All right then, I'll see you later,"

As Blaze turned, he was stopped by Nagase pulling his hand. Blaze looked back at Nagase, who pulled him into a hug, leaving him stunned for a while before he wrapped his own arms around her.

"Thanks, Blaze." said Nagase softly.

She let go and quickly walked towards their room, a slight blush on her face.

Blaze just stood there and watched as she rounded the corridor.

"Hmm…" mused Blaze. He shrugged and went for the showers.

Being quite clueless around girls due to his upbringing, Blaze had no idea what happened between them just now. On the other hand, Nagase kept on questioning what caused her previous actions on her bed in their shared room. Was it due to the heat of the moment, or was it something else? Nagase put aside the thoughts and started writing in her book.

However, unknown to both him and Nagase, this was only the beginning of what is to come in the near future for the both of them.


End file.
